Yangel Herrera already has hit two career milestones by age 19. First, he won the Bronze Ball at the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea earlier this month, given to the third-best player in the tournament. Second, after only three starts with New York City FC (two before, one after the World Cup), he has supplanted Italian superstar Andrea Pirlo in the midfield.

“I see it as normal,” Herrera said Tuesday, through a translator, about replacing Pirlo. “It’s the coach’s decision.”

NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira offered effusive praise for Herrera ahead of Saturday’s Hudson River Derby, the first rivalry game against the Red Bulls in which the midfielder will take part.

“Yangel can defend, can attack and score goals,” Vieira said. “He’s a physical presence, he’s a big help for the team and he’s not so bad with the ball as well. … If we were trying to get him after the World Cup, it’d be too late because he did really well. He was one of the best, if not the best player at the tournament.”

Herrera played every minute of the U-20 World Cup for the Venezuelan national team, leading his country to the final, where it fell 1-0 to England.

As a box-to-box central midfielder, Herrera dictated Venezuela’s offense, swinging passes across the field and putting himself on the world stage in a tournament NYCFC had been hesitant to let him play.

He even skipped the team’s celebration because even though NYCFC had given him two days to return, “I wanted to go straight back to the club because before I had left, they didn’t even want me to play in the World Cup,” Herrera said.

Herrera’s parents initially wanted him to follow in the footsteps of great Venezuelan baseball stars such as Dave Concepcion and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio, but he “didn’t really like it.”

“When my parents separated, I was going to live in another city and everybody there loved to play soccer,” Herrera said.

In January, Herrera was transferred to British powerhouse Manchester City from Atletico Venezuela. From there, Man City loaned him out to NYCFC. Though Herrera expects to stay through the MLS season, that could change if an opportunity arises.

“I’d love to stay, but I would like to see if I could see some minutes in Europe, not necessarily Manchester,” he said.